Commissioner Apologizes for Officer Mistakenly Body-Slamming James Blake
(DNAINFO) Sybile Penhirin — Police Commissioner Bill Bratton publicly apologized to former tennis star James Blake Thursday after a plainclothes NYPD officer mistakenly slammed him to the ground and handcuffed him outside his Midtown hotel Wednesday.
“I’d be very interested, as well as the mayor, to talk with him to extend my apologies for the incident which he found himself involved in yesterday,” Bratton said during the press conference.
“We have determined as a result of the investigation (…) that Mr. Blake had no role or involvement in the criminal investigation we were conducting and was totally innocent of any involvement,” he added.
As of 12:30 p.m., Bill de Blasio still had not been able to reach Blake, a Mayor’s spokeswoman said.
The 35-year-old tennis player said he was violently tackled and thrown to the ground by a plainclothes officer as he was standing outside his hotel on East 42nd Street near Lexington Avenue.
Blake went on “Good Morning America” on Thursday morning demanding an explanation from police for roughing him up in front Grand Hyatt while waiting for a car to bring him to the U.S. Open around noon Wednesday.